The Supreme Court issued a directive Today (March 19th) summoning Baba Ramdev to appear personally before the court as he had not filed a response to a show cause notice in the contempt proceedings initiated against Patanjali Ayurveda for its deceptive advertisements.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court demanded the personal presence of Baba Ramdev following his non-compliance with a reply requirement regarding a contempt notice. This notice was part of proceedings against Patanjali Ayurved for deceptive advertising practices.
The directive came from a bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, which preliminarily found Ramdev and Patanjali’s chairman, Acharya Balkrishna, to likely be infringing upon Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
Despite significant objections from Senior Advocate Mukul Rohtagi, who spoke on behalf of Patanjali, the Court issued its mandate. During the session, Justice Kohli pointedly asked,
“How can you be in the teeth of our orders?”
-emphasizing the importance of compliance from Ramdev and Balkrishna. Despite Rohtagi’s protests, which included the question,
“How does Ramdev come into the picture?”
-the Court remained unyielding, merely stating,
“You are appearing. We will see on the next date. Enough.”
Rohtagi continued, arguing that breaking a law does not constitute contempt of court and insisted that discussions held in open court should be reflected in the official order. Nonetheless, the Court stood firm and required Ramdev’s personal attendance.
During a previous session, the Court had already initiated temporary restrictions against Patanjali’s product advertisements, citing misleading assertions by its founders, Ramdev and Balkrishna. The Supreme Court criticized Patanjali for allegedly exploiting public trust by falsely promoting its products as cures without substantial scientific backing.
Furthermore, the Court reprimanded the Central government for its insufficient action against such deceptive ads, despite a lawsuit filed in 2022 addressing this issue. The directive was clear: Patanjali was to cease disparaging remarks or claims against alternative medical practices.
This sequence of events unfolded as the Bench deliberated over a petition from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which accuses the renowned yoga instructor and his corporation of conducting a defamation campaign against the COVID-19 immunization initiative and conventional medicine.
Previously, in November, the Supreme Court warned of imposing significant fines—up to Rs 1 crore for each unfounded assertion made in Patanjali’s advertisements that claimed their products could cure various diseases. Justice Amanullah, leading the bench, highlighted that the controversy should not devolve into a mere clash between allopathic (modern) medicine and Ayurvedic approaches.
Ultimately, the top court ordered Patanjali to halt the dissemination of misleading advertisements in the future and to refrain from asserting such claims through media outlets, emphasizing the necessity for a comprehensive solution to the problem of deceptive medical advertising.
CASE TITLE:
Indian Medical Association & Anr v. Union of India and Ors
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